Like an old married couple
by PaceyRowe
Summary: Five times Oliver and Felicity are mistaken for a married couple and the one time they actually are.
1. Rumored wife

**Disclaimer:** Arrow belongs to the CW, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisber and DC Comics. Any recognizable character belongs to them and I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**AN:** My native language isn't English so all the mistakes are mine and mine alone as I don't have a beta. If you spot any, please let me know so I can correct them as fast as possible.  
I hope you enjoy.

**01 - RUMORED WIFE**

The article catches him by surprise and he's not sure how it's possible he's found out about it first since he knows for a fact Felicity has his name monitored to prevent any kind of leaking about his nighttime activities. But here he is, reading it and spying at her frame through the glass that separates them. She doesn't have a clue; he'd find a residue of her trying to tamper on it or reigning on her feelings because he's always been able to after all these years. So that presents a dilemma: what to do?  
He could try to keep it away from her but, since he'll need her to get rid of this in the first place, she'll end up finding out so that makes it pointless. He could also try to play dumb, let her find the article herself and be the one that broaches the subject. But, being the awful liar around her that he is, he'll most definitely end up showing his cards and she'll know he knew before and didn't tell her. Cue to her disappointed tone and the hurt face; he really, really hates that face.  
So that only leaves just one option… he has to tell her. He has to man up and make levity out of it so they can laugh about it in the future after a few unavoidable days of dodging, blushing, stammering and uncomfortable situations on her part. Not ideal but it's slightly less cowardly than any of the other plans he's come up with.

He sighs loudly and, for a second, he believes she's heard him and is onto him because she moves in her chair but she settles quickly and just keeps tapping away not minding his mini freak out.  
He'd laugh at his jumpiness if he wasn't worried about how the two stupid paragraphs are going to threaten life as he knows it. He's been really enjoying it lately. Not too much drama, not too much angst, not too much bloodshed. Just your run on the mill normal vigilante life that he just senses will never be the same. Perhaps he's being a little melodramatic but there's something about those eleven sentences that sets the fine hairs in the nape of his head on end.  
The content's not that startling, it's even expected at this point, but the conclusion the journalist - if the people who dedicate their lives to spilling lies and secrets and dirt about other people can be called journalists - still has him reeling. No matter how much you prepare some things always manage to surprise. And that little article has certainly shocked him. Big time.

A lot has happened since he was a regular in this kind of websites. He was the bad boy the press loved, beneficiary to a billion dollar company, heir to an empire, shameless playboy and all around party lover. That seemed to sell a lot of magazines and get even more visitors on webpages so they followed his every move, never relenting, like his own little posse of flies.  
The thing is he didn't mind then because he was just a screw up that believed he was better than anybody else just for his father's money and his charm and the photos plastered on any cover or web portal was just a proof of that. If he was willing to look further into it, he'd have realized what he really sought was the attention. He wanted someone, anyone, to be focused on him instead of in the stock-market or shallow charities and business meetings and lavish parties. If his parents weren't going to fit the bill it's was only logical to look elsewhere.  
Tommy was just as screwed up back then as he was, so they made a game out of it where the other had to pay for the next bash if their face was on fewer publications than the other's. Needless to say that little wager awoke his innate competitive nature and he busted his ass to win his best friend, even going to the lengths of pissing on a cop car. Not his best moment, he has to admit, and now that photo haunts him in each of his birthdays in the follow-up that shows his life thus far.

Now, though, he has grown up and he has a lot to lose. Not only does he have to protect his new image - the real one, actually - and his company's too but he also has to protect his secret and Felicity. He cannot be as reckless or as thoughtless as he once was because now he cares. That's the main difference. He's put too much effort in making things work, in showing the real Oliver Queen and in showing Felicity he's worthy of the trust she always deposits on him, to let it all go down in flames.

The first time a rumor about him went up again - not counting his return back from the dead or his family's trashing for the Undertaking and the aftermath of the Slade debacle or even the perpetual shock of how a screw up could be taking over Queen Consolidated and managing quite alright - he freaked out; an honest to God full freak out, pacing and tugging at his hair. Sure, he had heard the words from Isabel all that time ago in Russia but it was so much more real printed and/or glowing in a computer screen.  
He knew they spent too much time together and that Felicity was a very attractive woman - that's plain to see and not even he can deny it, at least to himself; not anymore - combine that with his previous reputation and he doesn't know how he didn't see it coming before. So he apologized and tried to tell Felicity he'd fix it but she never freaked out. Not once; which, in reality, was even more terrifying than anything. That means business. That means she's pissed but not enough not to retaliate. And that's exactly what she did. She just rolled her eyes, tapped a couple of times on the screen on her tablet and it was gone. All gone. Gone as in gossip sites crashed into dust all over the world. He remembers staring agape at her for a full minute in a mixture of terror and arousal, because that sure was hot as hell even if he shouldn't think about her like that; ever.

But, despite how thorough Felicity was in erasing the evidence of their supposed affair, people had seen it and it only made visible how many people actually believes them to be a couple. Isabel had said all QC thought they had something going on but it wasn't just them, not by a long shot, and the article only brought that up.  
His own sister hit him with one of the magazines they couldn't stop from publishing their faces on for having kept Felicity away all this time, Laurel sincerely cheered him on his new life turn and Sara gave them the biggest 'I told you so' in History. Let's not forget Roy's epic 'That was supposed to be a secret?' and Diggle's more than obvious amusement at their uncomfortableness at the situation. But, if it had just been their closest ones, it wouldn't have been so bad. People on the street congratulated him and even investors believed them to be together. Every single one of them.

When Mr. Fox requested a meeting with him for a joint venture with Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences Division he had Felicity right by his side, as always, advising him in everything and translating all that technological and science-y gibberish he still doesn't have a clue about. He thought the meeting had gone extremely well, that they've been completely professional and that the little rumor of their more-than-working relationship hadn't traveled all over to Gotham, but he was so wrong. So, so wrong. Right after signing contracts and shaking hands in front of the elevator he'd told them that it was nice to see a couple so in sync, looking so happy and pleased as if he was a very old friend who had been waiting for this moment for a long, long time.  
He swears to God he hasn't seen Felicity blush so harshly and quickly ever in his life but she, for the first time in her life, she couldn't speak, just open and close her mouth like a fish out of water. And he didn't farewell so smoothly either. In fact, Mr. Fox left them completely frozen in place without even hearing them deny anything.

It made it all the more real. It wasn't true, and they both knew it, but every single person they encountered did no matter how many times they said they were just friends, or just colleagues, or just partners. It didn't take. They thought they were joking and being discreet and it was so frustrating, until it wasn't anymore and he, at least, took it all in stride. It was better than flustering every single time like Felicity insisted on doing.  
Thinking it over he knows they're way closer than any other friendship he's ever had or encountered. Not only don't they need to talk to understand what the other needs but they have worked together for such a long time now that they predict the others movements and act accordingly. They have the other moods so categorized they react and sooth the other before anyone else is privy to their feelings and no one else makes them laugh or argue as hard as they do with each other. They are so codependent it should make him run for the hills but it's just so reassuring and so comforting he knows he wouldn't stop even if he could.

He knows there's something there, something more, something they should explore further and talk about but what they have is so good he doesn't know if it'd be worth risking it over for a chance of a more that could go down in flames. He certainly doesn't need any more; he's blessed more than enough with what she gives and not even that he fully deserves but he's going to cling to it no matter what. So they continue to do this dance over and over. They publish something, Felicity takes it out, they get teased by the few people who actually know the truth, people believe their relationship is developing further than it really is and Felicity gets embarrassed and puts some space between them until something - generally bloody and/or life-threatening - pushes them back closer than ever before. It's a never ending cycle. And now it's happening all over again.

In all these years they've been 'together' he's gone from having a simple office affair, to cheating on her, to rekindling their flame, to breaking up with her, to getting serious with her, to having his heart broken, to settling down with her and now, apparently, to getting secretly married to her. They've had quite the ride, even if it's all fictional, but he cannot exactly blame them for their conclusions.  
He cannot remember the last time he's been on a date, period. He has two full time jobs that have to be paired with enough QC functions that should made him collapse but really don't so he can also help her sister in Verdant with PR; he really doesn't have the time or the energy to fix his eye in someone. Add to that the fact that he'd have to pretend to be interested in meaningless conversations when he'd be more preoccupied about the next big bad trying to corrupt his city and it's just so pointless and exhausting. And the lies, let's not forget the lies. And the risks. And the sneaking around. And the having to explain why's he so close to his executive assistant/best friend/partner. Sara and he parted ways for a reason and he's not going through the motions again. It wouldn't work so why try?

If he's learned something from his relationship with Sara is that vigilantes - or heroes, as Felicity always insists they actually are - are not meant to have a couple. If it couldn't work with Sara who, apart from having a very intense and passionate past with, shared every facet of his life he's sure it wouldn't work with any other. No, friendships are way better and equally as fulfilling; although a little bit more sexually frustrating, even more so when said friends are very fond of little tight grey dresses that showcase assets very flatteringly while parading around in high heels. But that's not the point. The point is he doesn't need anyone else in his life. The point is he's actually content with how everything is right now and he's not going to do anything to jeopardize that.

So he doesn't try anymore and spends even more time with Felicity than ever before and, of course, the press takes notice; how could they not? They're always there, like the vultures they truly are, taking pictures of private moments and speculating about things they know nothing about. Yet he sees their point.  
For the last couple of years Felicity Smoak has been his date in each and every function he hadn't been able to escape from. For the last three years he's had breakfast and lunch and dinner with Felicity whether it's outside, in his office or in the foundry it's irrelevant. She's always there, with his right hand covering the small of her back and his head turned to her to speak to her first before he does so to anyone else around them. It's always her by his side, day and night, QC and foundry, working or hanging out, meetings or parties. She's there, his saving grace, and he wouldn't have it any other way even if no one else but them understands their peculiar relationship.  
As he sends her the link through the private chat she had installed in all their devices he cannot help but sigh again at what's to come. It's going to be a really long night. He's going to have to find a way to convince her not to push him away this time or they might have a rumor of a little Queen heir on their hands and then things will really get out of hand.


	2. Work wife

**Disclaimer:** Arrow belongs to the CW, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisber and DC Comics. Any recognizable character belongs to them and I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**AN:** My native language isn't English so all the mistakes are mine and mine alone as I don't have a beta. If you spot any, please let me know so I can correct them as fast as possible.  
I hope you enjoy.

**02 - WORK WIFE**

One of the very things he likes the most about their new fictitious status, and that never ever crossed his mind, is that people are more cautious looking at her. He knows it's there because she grows more beautiful the more time passes but, opposite to the evident ogling of before now it's more subtle or, in some case, gone altogether. Apparently, people believe Oliver Queen doesn't like his 'wife' being stared at as if she's a piece of meat. It's empowering to see that he's as feared for himself as he is as the masked vigilante. It's also taken one point away from their long, loud and quite frequent arguments about his overprotection.

He remembers when, at their first period in QC - before Isabel threw him out and he'd to fight to get it back -, he had had more than once to call upon people from staring at her ass. He knows it's a nice ass, he has eyes too, and her skirts certainly help to boast it but there's a thing called being gentlemanly and a professional. Besides, he was doing them a favor anyway; Felicity's on occasion much more dangerous than him and he's sure that, if pushed, she'll have given their accounts a very much needed punch in the gut. The thing is she shouldn't have to because it's his fault.  
Rationally he knows it's not entirely his fault, it's not like he's telling every breathing man or woman out there to stare at her ass, but he's the one who's put her in the position where her physical aspects are more appreciated than her intellect is and that doesn't sit well with him. He obliterated the respect her colleagues had on her and he's sure as hell going to make sure to bring it back, even if it's forcefully. She's remarkable and every single person in her life should acknowledge that and treat her accordingly, beautiful body and enticing clothing or not.

Now, it's different and he just grins proudly seeing his theory proven further when he watches her enter the room and all the gazes are fixed straight on the countertop of the table. He's actually the only one glancing at her, so he's the only one who sees her roll her eyes at him in exasperation while unconsciously tugging the hem of her skirt to lengthen it a little bit more. He's not sure she actually realizes her lips curve a little at the corners as she circles the whole table, putting a freshly printed folder in front of everyone in attendance. No one breathes, even less so glances up, when she brushes past their shoulders to set it neatly on the table before she walks to another one, flowing skirt lapping at the top of her tights almost indecently. He's the only one watching and it's like another secret between them, another thing that separates them from the rest of the world, and he doesn't know who's smiling bigger by the time she settles the last file in front of him if he or her.

His theory was first tested throughout the days following the 'announcement' of their wedding. It was as if a switch had been flipped. One moment the men - and sometimes women - of QC didn't shy away from glancing at Felicity, albeit surreptitiously most of the time thanks to his frequent glares, and the next people turned their backs when she entered a room.  
That first day's still fresh in his memory. The previous night had been particularly long - between heavy Arrow duty and even heavier Felicity duty that drained him of his energy - and he was on his last nerve, anything could have set him off and he was particularly looking on lashing out on someone - as mean and as petty as it sounds - just to get all the aggression off his chest. But no one took the bait. Everyone in the lobby was as respectful as they could get, even the clingy security guard with a permanent fixation for Felicity and her legs. He was counting on him and he let him down! He could have gone at him just for that if Felicity hadn't scurried away in a rush murmuring things to do under her breath and both he and Digg had had to lengthen their steps to catch up with her.  
He pushed everything away as he submerged in pile after pile of propositions, contracts, reports and budgets that needed his appraisal and signature. It wasn't until he was sure his eyes had dried over that much reading and his hand was going to fall off from all the writing down his brain picked up in the oddity of Stan's behavior. He barely tasted his lunch as he mulled it over and over again but it wasn't until his next meeting arrived at his office that he realized the security guard wasn't the only one behaving oddly.

Marc Stanford's QC most trusted and capable accountant. His father scouted him and handpicked him fresh out of college and Walter has never had a bad word about his capabilities. He doesn't either, at least not his work ones, but he was quick to realize the silver haired man liked women as much as he had in his pre-island years.  
The first thing he did upon arriving to his office for the very first time was pause and look at Felicity's retreating back. He wasn't even hiding it. He checked her from top to bottom until he settled his eyes on her ass and he finally unfroze from his stupor, clearing his throat loudly. He didn't even shake the older man's hand, just ordering him to sit down in his harshest voice and start with the state of QC finances. It was the first time he actually witnessed how she was treated and it unsettled him.

After that he was hyper aware of how every single person interacted with Felicity and, in most cases, he didn't like it one bit. More than once he had to work out his frustration on the dummies in the foundry but he never said anything. If Felicity, whose intellect vastly surpasses his own, hadn't told him is because she didn't want him to know. He's not stupid enough to believe she hadn't realized what was happening; she probably did way before he did.  
Despite all that, from then on, he made sure to be a buffer between the ogling bastards and her trying to spare her any unwanted situations but he couldn't be there all the time and he's sure she has gone through a lot more than what he's seen. It doesn't make him any less frustrated or protective of her, just the opposite.

When Isabel Rochev told him exactly what QC believed their relationship to be he was more enraged than shocked. Sure, he was surprised because they couldn't be further away from the truth but it was pushed away in favor of outrage. If people actually believed them to be a couple, how could they still be looking at her like that? If people actually believed them to be a couple, how could they dare to ravage her with their eyes? Did they think he wouldn't care they ogled at her like that?  
The answer was so astonishing and so hurtful he had to drown it in vodka and Isabel to stop thinking about it only for it to return with a vengeance the moment he opened the door of his room to Felicity's disappointed voice and hurt face.

The truth was people only believed them to be having an affair. No feelings, at least on his part, just pleasure. They believed her to be the exact same thing he'd been looking for in the one nightstands that plagued his younger years: a disposable pretty face with a killer body and no brain that was fair game after he was done with her. She was the cliché. No, correction, he had made her the cliché when she was much, much more than that.  
That's why, upon returning from Russia, he made sure his disposition towards Felicity was clear. Hence the callouts, the growls and the warnings that started more and more arguments between them than his sometimes reckless behavior as the Arrow. He knew it only disconcerted her further, that it wasn't fair to her, but he wasn't going to stop and let her fend for herself. Not when he was perfectly capable of doing something to help her.

It took time, more than he'd have ever liked, but people got the gist of what was going on even if they only twisted it further and only made the rumors about them grow exponentially. Throwing Sara and Isabel and the whole twisted business with Slade only added up to the soap opera drama and it gave a few people, like Stan and Mr. Stanford, enough room to keep slobbering over her like she was the last woman on Earth. Until that very fateful day when the article broke out and Marc never glanced at Felicity for even a second. Both were so surprised that she stood by his office door for more than a minute, eyes locked with his as she gaped.  
Eventually she left and he got over the weirdness, feeling his initial tenseness towards the meeting ebb away. Needless to say it was their smoothest and most productive reunion since working together and he was glad to see he wouldn't have to rethink his position in the company.  
For a second, when he was leaving his office and passing by Felicity's desk, his back straightened once more but the only thing the older man did was nod at her respectfully and wish her a good afternoon before disappearing. It was very disconcerting and neither could concentrate on the rest of the work day.

The week passed by in the same fashion and his puzzlement and unease at the changes only grew and grew to the point of irritation. Well, not only his, Felicity was about to explode because if someone can smell something rotten is her and the whole thing stank harshly. If he was restless she was even more and his cheerful friend was starting to resemble a dragon in her steaming fury when they heard it: _Mrs. Queen_.  
He blanked on spot, only being able to hear that word repeating over and over in his brain. _Mrs. Queen_. It sounded way better than it should. _Mrs. Queen_. It was like a magic word. _Mrs. Queen_. Or better a drug, because it sure did sound amazingly… right. _Mrs. Queen_. In truth, it was the solution to all their problems. _Mrs. Queen_.

To her credit, the poor intern was even more frozen that both he and Felicity were and she dealt with it far worse. She apologized for her slip up so many times he was sure it was the only think she'll ever be able to say from then on but, as the shock evaporated, he realized that as out of control as the rumor about them was they could take advantage from it.  
They couldn't deny their relationship because nobody believed them, so why not go with it? It was strategy really. It only helped their cover for their night activities more. It was actually a better cover than her being his overqualified executive assistant. It was an even better way to protect her than any other thing he had come up with, at least in the office because he can see a lot of ways it could go wrong outside QC. In the end, it wasn't much of a choice because the girl apologized once more and she left. Her words still ringing in their ears and echoing in the room. Mrs. Queen.

After that it spread like wildfire. Ms. Smoak was dead, long live Mrs. Queen and cue to an even bigger freak out by Felicity in the cover of the foundry. They both could admit the whole thing was getting out of hand. They both could admit they needed to do something to stop it, to straighten things up. They both could admit they weren't going to do anything, though. Digg had a few choice words for him regarding that but they had made their decision and no one could change their minds. If he was stubborn she was even more and, combined, nothing could stop them. Besides, they weren't actively deceiving anyone, their private lives - as in his private life and her private life, separate, thank you very much - were nobody's business and they shouldn't be wasting their very precious time fighting people and their beliefs. They were going to live their lives as they've been doing for the last few years and be done with it. Let the chips fall where they may.

He never expected to enjoy himself so much, though. He never expected he'd be pushing boundaries in public just to see people's reactions. But the truth is he liked to see that Felicity was respected once more, even if it was because of his name. He liked to see her smile that big at work again. And he sure as hell liked to fluster both her and his employees riding on crowded elevators or joining the cafeteria more often than not now. He didn't have a lot of fun in his life and he was going to milk it for as long as he could.


	3. Undercover wife

**Disclaimer:** Arrow belongs to the CW, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisber and DC Comics. Any recognizable character belongs to them and I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**AN:** My native language isn't English so all the mistakes are mine and mine alone as I don't have a beta. If you spot any, please let me know so I can correct them as fast as possible.  
I hope you enjoy.

**03 - UNDERCOVER WIFE**

She shouldn't be here. He doesn't want her to be here. In fact, he wants her as far from here as possible. But no, she's right by his side throwing her head back slightly as she laughs at whatever stupid thing their companion has blurted out.  
On any other time her merriment would paint a smile on his lips but not today. Today he just grips her hip harder, feeling the material of her dress crinkle underneath his fingertips. It doesn't matter, though. As it doesn't matter how close he gets her to him or how watched he knows she is by their team, he knows she's just bidding her time in the ballroom before he has to watch her disappear on the corridor and work her magic for him, for his cause. If something happened to her because of him, he'd never be able to live with himself.

His grip must be getting painful, or maybe his face is showing much more of his inner turmoil than he'd like, because she's suddenly turning to him enveloping him in her arms. They are not strong arms or even that coordinated at times but they sure are comforting and safe and he has to fight the urge to wrap himself even further in them until he's completely flush with her front and he cannot feel anything but her. Of course, it'd be much more preferable if they could be doing just that far away from prying eyes and danger.  
He knows her words are meant to be reassuring but they really aren't. She cannot be sure that everything will be fine, that she'd be alright. Because the few times she's been out of the foundry in a mission have been far from fine and she hasn't been alright during or afterwards. And, this time, is looking more and more to be another one of those very close calls. A lot of things can go wrong in a second and he's going be far enough away from her that he won't be able to get to her fast enough to protect her.

The tightening of his gut is not new but he's sure he won't ever get used to it. In fact, he doesn't want to. He wants to be fearful and terrified and worried and angry and frustrated and proud of her every time she manages to convince him to be in the field. It means he's not taking her and her safety for granted. It means he'd do anything to keep her safe, alive and, hopefully, uninjured. It doesn't mean he enjoys this agony because, surely, waiting's the worst. The anticipation and his very active imagination are his worst enemies in these moments.  
A sparkle catches his eye and his breath freezes in his lungs for a second breaking his train of thought. He forgot about them. He knew they were there; he put them there, actually. But he just forgot their existence until they've made themselves known once more. He knows they were there but it doesn't make the sight any less surprising or… right, for a lack of a better word. It's even more awing seeing the contrast they make against his dark tux. Just the distraction he needed.

He blinks slowly and deliberately before raising his eyes to hers, watching the very same thing he has with what he can only believe to be his same startled and soft expression. Now, more than ever, he knows they should talk, explore whatever it is between them and be grow ups. The thing is this is the worst place and time for this to happen and the second they're pulled from this revelry they're going to bury their head in the sand like they've been doing for years now, they're both pros at that. So he sighs and tugs her closer to him as he walks them backwards towards the dance floor. If this moment isn't going to last into tomorrow he's going to get as much of it as he can before going back to normal.  
The glinting disappears the moment her hand curves over his shoulder but it doesn't help one bit because, in their traditional waltz stand, his left hand is sporting a ring matching her own and it's so very, very distracting; perhaps even more than seeing her set on her hand.

They're all part of the strategy, he's sure that's why Digg suggested them even if he was smirking like a mad man and Sara and Roy laughed at his gaping mouth and Felicity's sudden choking on nothing but air. For all intents and purposes they are married to the world. There's not a certificate and neither one have confirmed anything to the press, but they haven't deny it either and that seems to be most important thing in the whole matter. If they'd have done something in the first place none of this would have happened but he saw a chance to get people even further from the scent of the truth as possible and he took it; moreover, he convinced Felicity to take it with him.  
Up until now he'd been enjoying the perks of their fake marriage but it all stops being fun and games when your whole team - fictitious wife leading the march - gang up on you using the very thing you saw as your way to protect everything in your life against you.

He got sick of the 'fighting like an old married couple' pretty soon in the collective arguments and even stormed a couple of times on all of them when this stupid plan was brought up to him. They fought, they yelled and he hatched a half-assed plan that almost cost him his life. Bringing even more yelling and fighting to his life until Felicity squared her shoulders and told him in no uncertain terms that she was doing this with or without him. Without him wasn't an option, never was and even less so since Tockman happened. So it has to be with him.  
That's why he's here, her arms now wrapped snuggly around his neck and his hands settled in the small of her back, listening to reassurances on a loop on his ear while song after song sounds in the background.

When the comms in their ears crackle to life he knows it's time and he cannot help but stiffen, trapping her in his arms, but her hand is in his face now and the metal of the rings is enough to put him somewhat at ease until watching her retreating back obliterates it and swaps it with dread.  
He doesn't know how much time it passes, his mind isn't even sharp enough to monitor it, but he knows it's not enough for him to storm after her because nobody else is alarmed by her absence. It's simply him but that's not exactly reassuring.  
Despite his state people are still coming to him for a chat, a shake of his hand, a congratulations for his recent nuptials and he doesn't know if he's functioning like a human being or not but nobody frowns upon him and everybody leaves as quickly as they came.

He can hear her in his ear now, muttering the words he'd been waiting for in these infernal unnumbered minutes. It shouldn't take much longer now. In fact, she should be with him by the ten minute mark - as the plan she carefully made said so - so as not to arouse suspicion. Women can get away with longer trips to the bathroom than men but, even so, if she doesn't hurry he'd start being questioned. Even more than he's already been, that is.  
She's been the start of the party, much to her chagrin and embarrassment and his pride and amusement. Everybody wanted to see and speak with the one woman able to tame and catch Oliver Queen. Of course, it didn't take her long to charm the pants off most of the people in the room and they've been barely left alone for a few seconds before someone claims her. He can already see from the corner of his eye the elderly Mrs. Greenwald coming his way once more, most likely to get a few more wine recommendations from Felicity before she leaves, so he knows it's time. But she doesn't appear.

His watch tells him it's been eleven minutes since he's last seen her and nothing and no one is going to stop him from going after her, injury and consequences be damned.  
He pulls his cellphone quickly from his inside breast pocket, fingers shacking slightly over the icon of the special app Felicity's created and that monitors the tracking devices present in all of them since their last fight with Slade Wilson. He knows where each and every tracking device is in each member of his team, but only Felicity's new one make his heart flip, and now, more than ever, he just wants her by his side, safe and sound.

The sudden pinging almost startles him, his eyes locating quickly her silver dot in the digital blueprint of the mansion they're partying at. She's close, very close actually; he just has to get out of the ballroom and turn left in the corridor beside it and she should appear right in front of him. Her distress signal hasn't been activated so he rationally knows she must be fine but that doesn't stop him from lengthening his stride.  
For just a second he stands completely still, soaking up in the scene before him, but her sharp words propel him forward. He can feel the exact second when she finally acknowledges his presence because her shoulders sag and her breath softly stutters from her lips and, if he were to lose control, this could be the moment where he sends everything to hell and gives in. He could gather her in his arm and kiss her senseless but the stupid and drunken man in front of her is bursting his relieved bubble by talking and getting closer to her and that's not ok with him.  
In fact, he's stupid enough to try and pick a fight with him when he puts himself in front of Felicity, blocking her from view. If he wasn't so hung strung as he is right now he'd probably laugh in his face but now he merely narrows his eyes and steps menacingly to him. It's only her hand, the same hand that sports his rings, that stops him.

He'd have gladly broken his jaw or his nose or something for having the audacity to come at her, to keep her from coming to him, but despite their line of work Felicity abhors violence and he's the one who'll get lectured and yelled at when they get home so it's not worth it. Instead he hissed to the other man to leave with enough venom in his voice he actually gets the threat in his words and scrambles off before he crushes her to his chest, feeling the damp stain in her dress transfer to his dress shirt and the smell of hard liquor surround them. But she's warm and fine so he doesn't care, he just keeps hugging her until the comms crackle once more and he knows they must part. One last appearance in the party to make an excuse and be on their merry little way to the foundry for more work.

When they reappear, his arm wrapped around her waist and her waddled into his suit jacket, nobody comments about it, they just say their goodbyes with thinly veiled innuendoes creeping behind them making Felicity's cheeks flame up and his lips twitch.  
He should probably be bothered that this people feel his cavalier attitude of youth is making a comeback but he can't for the life of him care because, for once, the whispers he hears behind his back are flattering instead of demeaning. How could they not when they speak how good of a husband he seems to make? How could they not when they murmur Felicity's name with the same adoration he feels? How could they not when they are deemed the most devoted couple they've seen in years? God forgive him, how could they not when they say how plain is to see they're hopelessly in love with one another?

As they walk back to the car, back to their team and the real life where they are not really married and their paths part away, he just grips her hand harder, letting his thumb brush over the rings that've saved her and he vows to keep them right where they are.  
It'd be a while yet before either one of them is remotely ready to talk about what this closeness between them means and even further along the way is the possibility of a romantic involvement. He knows it'd come, has known for quite a while now, but neither is ready yet. What they're ready for, though, is to keep maintaining this charade and the rings are the perfect way to do that. Now, if only could he convince her without her usual freak out.


	4. Buffer wife

**Disclaimer:** Arrow belongs to the CW, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisber and DC Comics. Any recognizable character belongs to them and I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**AN:** My native language isn't English so all the mistakes are mine and mine alone as I don't have a beta. If you spot any, please let me know so I can correct them as fast as possible.  
I hope you enjoy.

**04 - BUFFER WIFE**

If there's one thing he hates more than long tedious meetings where nothing is accomplished is campaign parties. More specifically, he loathes campaign parties for his mother's reelection as Starling City's Mayor. There was one thing doing it the first time, alone, but now with Felicity by his side is ten times more horrible and, as always, it's all because of his mother.  
He remembers the first election. He remembers how proud he was of her at first, when he wasn't aware of her whole net of lies surrounding their family, because she was trying to mend her errors. He remembers how it all went to ashes very quickly. He remembers how it was Felicity - brave and remarkable Felicity - who stood up to him to open his eyes, once and for all. He also remembers how stupid he was and how, after that, he took the worse decisions of his life that almost took everything from him. Keeping the truth from Thea put her in danger and pushed Roy away right before she told him he was just like their mother. He was so destabilized by the knowledge of his mother's true nature that he stumbled into Sara, putting at risk their friendship, Laurel's mental health and his relationship with his teammates.  
Slade Wilson came immediately afterwards and he used everything to make him crumble and it was only Felicity there to believe in him and put him back together. He believed he was making her a huge favor for everything she's done for him when he gave her the night off; he was going to be busy being the dutiful son and celebrating his mother's achievement - even when he had made sure not to vote for her - and he didn't want to drag her with him. But that actually was his worse decision to date because that meant Felicity was alone and away from him and utterly vulnerable to the scheme his mother had been hatching all this time. He shouldn't have underestimated her and how deceitful she could be.  
Two weeks it took him to find her. It also took the final drift from his mother, the final confrontation where he almost couldn't control himself from hurting her and, most of all, it took telling the truth to Thea. The whole truth. Green truth and island truth and the new knowledge that Malcolm was alive at the same time. He wasn't holding himself that well at the moment.

In the end he found her or, more correctly, she told him where to find her exhausted and terrified but more stubborn and resourceful than ever. Thank God she wasn't hurt in any way or it'd have been way worst for the stupid hired guns than arrowed shoulders and broken knees. Even so, she forcefully went to the hospital with him by her side until her sleep deprivation and slight starvation and dehydration was taken care of properly. He didn't left her side then either when she returned home, opting instead to camp out on her couch. How could he when he was acutely aware this was the tenth time he'd almost lost her? And yes, he'd been counting and since the Dodger no less.  
Sara was actually the one who convinced him to step aside and let her breathe because not even Felicity's yelling was enough to deter him. In the end he settled to watch her from afar and made it part of his routine. Before going to his newly purchased penthouse for the night he watched her until the lights in her townhouse faded and, even then, he stayed for a while making sure she was safe. Sometimes he was relieved from his post by Digg, if Lyla was away on a mission, but, more often than not, Sara did.

In those moments he felt more love for Sara than ever before. They might not be together anymore but that never stops them for looking after each other and the most important people in their lives. Just like she watches over Felicity he watches over Laurel, like their own little ritual. Their romantic relationship was doomed from the start, with all the pain and baggage weighting down on their backs and their closeted devotion to other people, but they owed it to themselves and to all the people they hurt when they boarded that boat to, at least, try. If they didn't do it, how could they live with the guilt of all the pain their reckless behavior had not only put them into but their families too? So they tried and failed and moved on and did what they did best: be friends and watch each other's backs. He was grateful he got to do all that, that he had her around to do all that, after Slade came at them guns and swords blazing. But he saw the futility in trying again, so he quit. No more women, no more relationships, no more lying and no more hiding. He has maintained it until now, until this moment, where his hand is firmly attached to Felicity's very tense small back.

He'd do anything to make her relax, to put a smile on her lips again, to get her the hell away from here. The thing is he can't and that's what making both of them so upset. She's very aware of the role they're both playing here; she knew the uncomfortable situations she'd have to put herself into when she accepted his proposition of following the charade the rumor provided. Moreover, she's the most stubborn woman he's ever met and he knows she won't let his mother win; not again. So she stays ramrod straight, sipping wine gently and talking as serenely as possible with whoever wants to approach the little corner of the room they've claimed for themselves.  
If his mother's thinly veiled glares in their direction are proof enough, she doesn't like their attitude any more than she likes the sheer amount of people who come to talk to them. It might be juvenile but that's the only thing worth smiling for in this stuffy party. She keeps underestimating Felicity, over and over, and he's sure she now regrets the little game she tried to pull them into when the invitation arrived at his mail.

The time when Moira Queen broke their silent agreement once the article appeared in the gossip pages still manages to make him equally furious and happy. She was… outraged, to put it mildly, and came in a flurry of indignation and coldness to her only son's new home. He almost closed the door on her face but she was surprisingly quick and managed to sneak into his penthouse before he could do anything to stop her. He knew most of the things that left her mouth before she even opened it. What a disgrace! Who does he think he is to do something that stupid? Does he really believe she wants anything other than his money? Didn't he learn anything from his father and his thoughtless affair with Isabel Rochev? Did he stop to think how this reckless union would impact QC? Or her career as the new Mayor?  
He stopped her right there. She had already showed her cards and he was more than fed up so he shooed her out never reveling for one moment he was anything but devoted to Felicity. In fact, he might have implied she was there in the same vicinity they were in right then waiting for him to go back to bed and continue celebrating their recent nuptials.  
He should have known in that moment that she'd use their 'relationship' to her own benefit. What she didn't expect - and neither did he for that matter - was the outstanding effect his supposed marriage to Felicity would have in every aspect of his life. He's sure she'd have enjoyed preaching to the world how inconvenient she was to him as a wife and as a partner to try and tear them apart but, as the world believed otherwise, she's had to adapt and pretend Felicity is God's gift to Oliver.

It sickens him how often in this very dragging new campaign she's mention them and the fantastic relationship they all have, always managing to find a good excuse to cover up for their very noticeable absences, even to the point of wishing for grandkids inflaming anew what were starting to become the embers of their marriage news.  
He thought for sure his mother was going to be penniless and God knows what other despicable things could come from Felicity's fingers in her ire. But nothing ever came of it, not even the expected freak out. He should have known she'd fight fire with fire but he didn't anticipate it and in their first appearance in a campaign act she merely showed up in a tight green number, not clingy enough to be indecent but snug enough to show her slender form. And so the games began. Every time her mother said something about Felicity she retaliated in a very elegant, if he says so himself, way. It would be amusing if he wasn't so frustrated with his own mother.

This time, however, she's gone way too far. She might deem this party as a campaign effort but he's sure inviting what he's mostly sure entails his whole collection of one-nightstands and previous girlfriends, while making him and his 'wife' the guests of honor, it's not the way to keep a reputation in politics. What's even more irritating it's that he didn't see it coming, not even for a second, and Felicity was thrust headfirst into the past life he's so ashamed of with no warning and no preparation whatsoever.  
He's sure the last thing she wants to do is be here, pretend to be happy and let him anywhere close to her but she's much too good a person to make a scandal. He wishes she'd do it, though. Both his mother and he deserve it.

Instead he plays the dutiful husband to the tee, which irritates his mother even further. He doesn't leave her side for a second, a part of him is always touching her body and whatever she might desire he brings it to her instantly not questions asked. He knows his behavior is being more scrutinized here and that it clashes harshly with the image everyone has, or had, of him. He doesn't care and, in the end, it pays off.  
Only a few of the more scorned women of his past life have dared approach them, talking sweetly about their encounters but with enough hidden poison he isn't sure how he is still alive. It's hard and disconcerting hearing his bubbly and chatty friend not string but a couple of words together with a clipped tone. It feels like a kick in the gut and, more than once, he has had to restrain himself from forcibly removing those women from her sight.

He's sure that's what his mother wants. If she couldn't tear Felicity from his side with threats or get him to remove her permanently from his life with kidnapping attempts, she was going to show her exactly who Oliver Queen was or who she thought he was. For a while he's sure she's succeeding; that, after everything, Felicity's going to finally see him as the horrible person he truly is. Her increasing tenseness and coldness towards each and every story doesn't leave a shadow of a doubt and he only pushes himself harder and harder to show her that person isn't him anymore. His mother doesn't know him, she does. Even so, he's ready to give up when she starts twirling her rings, loosening them ever so slightly as they circle down her finger until they are at the tip.

Her mother sees it, sees every single thing, and she's smiling so genuinely now he's sure her face's going to split in half. But he isn't so amused, quite the contrary actually. A cold dread's climbed up his spine leaving him frozen in place, waiting expectantly the moment when everything collapses around him once and for all. He always knew this partnership was too good to be true. It's a shame they don't have more time to keep exploring this thing between them. He's sure that, in the right time, it'd have been the greatest thing to happen to either one of them.

It never comes, though, and that floors him even more than anything. Why does he keep underestimating her too? Hasn't he learnt anything after all this time? When he thought she was going to whisper at him harshly that their arrangement was over she just shook her head, harshly, letting her loose hair dance around his shoulder for what he thought was the last time. When he thought she was going to pocket the rings on his jacket she only slid them up again, straightening them very carefully and deliberately. When he thought she was going to turn on her heel and leave his life forever she got even closer to him, her whole front plastered to his side as he gripped her harder to him. He thought he had finally lost her when the only thing she did was kiss his cheek tenderly right before wiping the deep red mark with her left hand, rings glistening under the chandelier lights. The meaning was not lost on anybody, although it took him a while to catch up and regale her with the biggest smile he's ever given anybody in his entire life.

He almost kissed her, right then and right there, but settled for brushing his lips on her forehead repeatedly, feeling more than seeing his mother's heated glare. He knows in that moment nothing can break them as long as they're together. Not the past, not the future, not his recklessness, not her stubbornness. It's worth noting, and he sure files it for further analyzing, for now he'll enjoy watching her mere presence make the harpies surrounding them retreat. This is their victory.


	5. Fighting wife

**Disclaimer:** Arrow belongs to the CW, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisber and DC Comics. Any recognizable character belongs to them and I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**AN:** My native language isn't English so all the mistakes are mine and mine alone as I don't have a beta. If you spot any, please let me know so I can correct them as fast as possible.

**AN2:** As most of you have wondered already in the comments I'm going to clarify that this is an AU after "The man in the hood" and the spoilers you might've caught up in this fic are up to that. Also, the story takes place around 3 years, going on 4, from where the show was in that precise moment.

I hope you enjoy.

**05 - FIGHTING WIFE**

The tension is so thick in his sanctuary he can feel his already rigid muscles harden even further, which isn't good at all because that's always made his short temper snap. The problem with that is that under no circumstance is he going to unleash his violence on the tiny blonde in front of him. And that adds another coat of frustration, making the never ending circle seem to spin on and on.  
He doesn't know why she's so mad in the first place. It's not the first time he goes out there and risks it because there's literally no time to plan. It's certainly not the first time he comes back home battered and bruised and bloody. And it's also not the first time he thought he wasn't going to make it. He knows she worries, he knows she cares and he knows he scares the breath out of her but he doesn't know why she's giving him this kind of reaction now.

He's seen her passionate about her morality. He's seen her pigheaded. He's seen her terrified. He's seen her try to knock sense into him. He's seen her frustrated. He's seen her sassy. He's seen protective. And he's seen her angry. But, in all the years they've know each other, he's never seen this livid. Her 'loud voice' is a myth to him, one everybody in their lives has been on the receiving end and feared but never him. Oh, he's been close and a lot more than once, but he's never had it unleashed unrepentantly on him. For a second he just forgets she barely reaches his shoulder and she weights a third than he does because she's larger than life and they're right, it's actually pretty scary, big bad vigilante or not.

He's never been particularly impressed with her linguistic abilities despite how much she talks but now he's changing his mind. He'd have thought she'd be somewhat inarticulate in her wrath but it's actually just the opposite. In fact, she's talking even faster than ever and he has a really hard time catching even a word of what she's saying but he doesn't have to listen to every single sentence to know what she's talking about. Her expressions, her inflections, her gestures, her tone speak even louder than her reverberating voice does and his stomach flips with guilt.  
He's put the tears in her eyes, he's the one making her throat raw, he's the one she's turning away from because she's even more scared of letting him touch her in that moment of intense weakness than of any danger she's ever been in.

His anger pretty much deflates in that moment because it hurts a lot more having her do that than any bullet or stabbing ever could. So he stays there, letting her lash out until she has no voice and no tears left and she's slumped underneath the salmon ladder, letting the solid iron he trains on everyday hold her up.  
He doesn't say he's sorry. He doesn't say he's never going to do it again. He doesn't try to even touch her. He just sits in the opposite iron pillar and ponders the words his brain is just catching up on.

A long time ago, when his world was crashing around him, he got the first glimpse into the very hidden puzzle that is Felicity Smoak. In his research, previous to their second encounter, he hadn't found anything about a Mr. Smoak. In fact, for about a year, he believed she was actually the only daughter of a single mother. She had never volunteered the information before and his head had been at the time so far up his ass, as she had so eloquently had put it once, he hadn't even realized the people around him had lives too, had problems and traumas and insecurities and nightmares as well. He'd thought he'd been mending that selfishness so ingrained in his core when he'd listened to Digg's life story. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Sure, he'd learnt a lot about Digg and could appreciate more of his motivations and drive in why he did what he did. He'd been a pretty decent friend to Digg since then but he'd forgotten another very important friend to listen to, even when he had told her she could always come to him when she needed an ear to listen.  
She'd never taken him up in his offer and, while he'd never forgotten about it, he'd simply thought there was nothing else for her to tell. He had disrupted her normal life and that was that. How he could have been so wrong he's never going to know the answer to. The point is that he had and he'd started to reevaluate everything he thought he knew about Felicity Smoak from that fateful moment on.

He'd always believed her life had been easy, normal and mostly happy. He had never pondered that, even before knowing him, some things could have tormented her and bring tears to her eyes.  
The first time he met her he just knew middle and high school couldn't have been the best experience for her. She exuded that nerdy and awkward vibe that, while in adulthood it was completely charming and adorable, it made very easy in the early years to get picked on. He'd almost pitied her for that until she narrowed her eyes at him while cocking her head in disbelief at his blatant lie. He smiled then not because he was trying to charm her into doing his bidding - at least, not just for that - but because he realized he shouldn't underestimate her. The girl had spunk and he was immediately hooked.  
It was going to be a one-time only but he needed more and that called for a research that provided nothing more than what he had gathered in their first meeting, apart from her not that unusual parentage. He didn't need her birth records to know she was quite younger than he'd been expecting when he first entered her cubicle. He didn't need to see her grades and titles to know she was brilliant because he'd seen her genius first hand. He didn't need the spring break photos to know there was more than meets the eye about Felicity Smoak; the industrial piercing had done that. So he let it go because there was nothing more to find. She was a dichotomy, unique in her predictability, and he'd learnt to accept that as something as Felicity-like as the babbling, the Freudian slips and the innuendos.

The revelation of her father's abandonment - and the rather disturbing imply at a less than loving mother - had unsettled him because, suddenly, there was even more to Felicity than he'd known about and he hadn't bothered to learn any more. Why hadn't he bothered to learn more? Why hadn't he talked to her about anything more than him? He considered her his friend but she really wasn't, not really. How could she be when he wasn't doing anything to know her? He was treating her as a mere tool. Everything they talked about was work; QC or Arrow related it didn't matter, it was still work. No feelings, no past, no dreams and, despite his poor treatment, she still went over her head to help him. He certainly didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve her and even less so in the weeks after her revelation.

He could excuse himself in the sudden stress spike his life had suffered and, considering who he is and what he does, it means something. Surely more people than not would understand that with his mother's betrayal, Sara's near death after they've just gotten her back, her finally coming back from the death, QC, the Arrow, the Mirakuru crisis, Laurel's downward spiral, lying even more to Thea and making sure Roy was not a harm to himself and to others, losing QC and Slade Wilson it's justified that some aspect of his lie was swallowed and swept away. He certainly had all those problems, he really tried to tackle all of them up but, if he's honest with himself, guilt was what pushed him away. It always does.

Before the island he didn't know guilt and didn't realize how all-consuming it could become but after Lian Yu is the only thing he knows.  
He's guilty about Sara and the life she's had to lead because of his stupidity. He's guilty about Laurel because no matter what he does he's just a reminder of how much he's impacted her life in a bad way. He's guilty about Shado because he couldn't save her and he misses her so much it hurts. He's guilty about Slade for everything that happened between them, for killing the man who made him who he is. He's guilty about Thea because he loathed lying to her, it was one thing keeping his nightlife a secret from her to protect her but helping his mother cover up such a personal truth ate at him until it exploded in his face. He's guilty about his father, for not being the man he wanted him to be and for not carrying his last wish. He's mad guilty about Tommy, because he failed him in every sense of the word; he crushed their friendship, he betrayed him and he couldn't be there when he needed him the most. He thought that'd be the ultimate hurt but now that Felicity's joined the list he feels that pain doubles up in the middle of his chest threatening to choke him some times.

He's mend it, though. He knows it'll never be enough and he doesn't want it to be, because that'll make him complacent and that's the last thing he wants regarding her, but it took him time. It took a strain, falling even deeper in a hole, both almost dying and her kidnapping by his own mother to finally grow up. And as he did so, as he finally became the man everybody believed him to be because she showed them it was there buried deep under the rubble of his selfishness and five years of hell, his eyes fell wide open.  
He knows that, despite their feelings for one another opening that door, taking that risk, was not something they were ready for. They had as much to lose as they had to gain but they needed time - he needed time - to rebuild their trust, their friendship, their partnership from the ground up stronger than ever before. Now he fears it'll all go with the wind because he's toyed with the most precious vow he's ever made her: 'You're not going to lose me, Felicity'.

He's in the verge of tears and looking at her so broken, clutching his bloody hood in the oppressive silence of the foundry isn't helping. He thinks they're about to win and roll down his cheeks when she suddenly looks at him and sighs, loud and stuttering and his terror spikes. Not even a week before he was worried the prop rings still glinting in her left hand were going to leave. He remembers how his gut filled with lead and he had trouble breathing. It's worst now because he sees her taking them off and leaving them there, in the base of the salmon ladder while she rises and disappears from his view.  
He wants to yell, he wants to run after her; hell, he wants to beg! But he does neither because he's recognize that face, the 'I-need-to-be-alone' face, and he's never been able to force her to do anything she doesn't want to, neither does he want to. He respects her too much. He cares about her too much.

But they mock him, sitting there so neatly one on top of the other. He's sure they're sparkling brighter now that any other time before on her finger and that's because they're laughing at him and at his stupidity. He's sure they wouldn't be doing that if they've been flung across the foundry but they haven't, because Felicity has a lot more class than that. And that hurts. It hurts because being angry indicates passion, fire, and he knows she has it in spades. But setting them on the ground so softly they didn't even clank a little in the concrete floor felt like dejection, she's giving up. She's giving up on their charade, on their partnership, on their friendship. She's giving up on him. It feels like goodbye and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

Once he told her he was his own worst enemy, that nobody could hurt him like he can. And it's true, nobody can torture him like he does all the time with his memories, his rage, his guilt, his shame, his self-loathing and his lies. His lies hurt deeper than any of his arrows could.  
They've hurt Laurel, Sara, Thea, Roy, Diggle and Tommy and, now, they're hurting her. But she's not going to put herself through that. She's strong - the strongest person he's ever known - and she's resilient - God knows she's had to resist a lot from him and the life he brought her into - but she's not stupid and she's not a masochist. She might be selfless and caring but she's not going to let herself be run over and have her heart broken the same way it broke after her father left. In the bottom of his hear he knew that if he couldn't take his life seriously and cherish it as much as he knows she does, she was going to leave and never look back. It certainly looks like she already did.

He burrows his head in his arms and lets the tears fall. If someone deserves to be cried over is her and he's not going to keep them at bay, not when grief as heavy as Tommy's is taking and icy hold on his heart and lungs. He didn't realize he'd been muttering the same prayer he had after his best friend's passing until she asks him what that means. He's so startled he literally jumps, the base of his skull colliding sharply with the unforgiving iron at his back, and then she's there berating him softly to be more careful even if he has a thick head just before she cups his face with cool and slightly damp hands that smell like detergent.  
Everything is suddenly clear as she fusses over him. They're married, maybe not legally but, in the deeper sense of the word, they're truly married. She belongs to him and he's tired of denying he doesn't belong to her so he hugs her tightly to his chest kissing her temple repeatedly as tears roll down his cheeks again. This time they're of joy because he's already planning how the rings are going back again into her finger this time properly and for the rest of their days.


	6. Mrs Queen

**Disclaimer:** Arrow belongs to the CW, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisber and DC Comics. Any recognizable character belongs to them and I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**AN:** My native language isn't English so all the mistakes are mine and mine alone as I don't have a beta. If you spot any, please let me know so I can correct them as fast as possible.

**AN2: **This is it, the end to my story. I'd like to thank every single one of you readers - wether you've reviewed, faved, followed or just read - for the support you've offered. I'm grateful and you've given me drive to keep writing and, most importantly, posting and sharing with you. So thank you and I sincerely hope you enjoy.

**6 - MRS QUEEN**

Their wedding's completely unconventional but so are they and he cannot find a fault in that. Thea does, though. She's been grumbling under her breath all day long and if he weren't as elated as he is she'd have managed to kill his buzz. But it's impossible. He can say, without a shadow of a doubt, this is the happiest he's ever been in his entire life.  
From the moment he woke up in her bed - now theirs - he's been happy. He doesn't know how he managed to actually fall asleep in the first place because even after a long day at the office and an even longer night as Starling City's vigilante he was full of energy. Sure, she certainly helped him get rid of most of it after they returned home but he managed to tire her out before she could do it to him. In fact, he laid awake for a long while afterwards just watching her sleep, the rings glinting promisingly on her finger under the moonlight filtering through the curtains.

He knew what he'd planned for the next day, no one else knew and that, as weird as it sounds, made him even happier and excited. He wanted to give her the world, the moon and stars but she's much too curious and smart for her own good and he hasn't managed to surprise her yet. He's tried, time and time again in these few short blissed months of their romance, but she always catches him. There's always a little clue for her to find, a thread she pulls and pulls and pulls until she manages to uncover all his secrets. Or he blows it up with his inability to lie to her. But not this one.  
This one he has kept very close to his chest. No threads for her to find because he's done everything by himself. No feeling guilty for keeping a secret from her either. It's a good secret, a great surprise and he knew he had done the right thing when he was thoroughly rewarded as she realized what was going on and launched herself into his arms to pepper his face with kisses. He wasn't able to suppress the smile at the mimic of the way he had woken her up that morning, right before he had traveled her body down with his lips just to be thorough. She couldn't repay him that way in the moment, but the breathy sigh on his ear made it very clear she was going to do it that night. Their wedding night. Their first night as husband and wife. The first night of the rest of their lives.  
It was a moment of respite, a moment where they were the true and whole version of themselves in a world often fast paced and full of masks. But he knew it couldn't last and, for once in his life, he didn't want it to and not because their friends were catcalling or begging them to separate but because he had biggest and more important things to do for, and with, that woman right then. Like getting hitched, for example.

Diggle was the first person he told. It was sometimes harder hiding it from him than it had been from Felicity. He had had to catch himself from spilling the beans to the man more than once when the doubts assaulted him. He knew he wouldn't have said a word but he didn't want to risk spoiling it. And his friend got that when he told him his whole plan, after calling him a sappy bastard, that is. But he did what he needed him to do. He brought them the rabbi who officered Felicity's bat mitzvah and, now, their wedding too. And he's walked her down the aisle like the proud big brother he is, big smile on his face that looks like it's never going to go away.  
He was even conscious enough of her needs and convinced detective Lance to attend and he was even more grateful for his brother in arms then than ever before. They might be partners and saviors in this city but the older man's still very cautious about getting his daughters' hearts - and Felicity surely has become another Lance in that aspect - anywhere near him. He doesn't care; he even cherishes it because he knows how happy it makes her to have a father figure such as him in her life. Her own father's loss is the detective's gain and he knows the older man isn't complaining.

Sara was next and it was a joy to watch because she hadn't been so cheerful and spirited since before they went on the Gambit. She became the kid he once knew again, the young woman he was bewitched with and the partner in some of his most memorable mischievous moments. It was a great view, a trip to the good past, one he had missed dearly. Those happy memories sure helped when she became an annoying pain in the ass teasing him to no end for over four hours straight as they made Verdant presentable and 'wedding-ready', as she put it, for his bride-to-be.

He was almost relieved to be away from her until he realized it was Laurel's turn. At first, he had been very indecisive about bringing her into his plan but, in the end, he knew he couldn't keep her out. Felicity wouldn't want to because she knew she still meant a lot to him as a good friend and as the partial shaper of who he is now. He's sure that without her, without all the mistakes he made with her, he couldn't have become who he is and could have never loved Felicity the way he does. Just for that she deserves his whole gratitude.  
Still, once he got to her front door, he hesitated. It was the end, so to speak. He was going to blow all the bridges for them and there'd be no going back. Laurel and Ollie, the pairing from his youth, would be no more and while he didn't regret it his gut still tugged uncomfortably as his heart finally let go.  
He didn't get to knock; instead, she came from behind him and startled him from his thoughts, not at easy feat that managed to unsettle him more than seeing the last of their journey together as he took in her. Seeing her and seeing the future they could have had compared to the future he can envision with Felicity brought a sense of calm lost since he had faced the familiar apartment door. They both knew this was closure and they fumbled and got teary eyed at what could have been, both knowing it was truly never meant to be.  
In the end they walked, side by side, over to the Courthouse where she pulled enough strings to give him the biggest and most thoughtful gift she's ever given him, the Marriage Certificate that'd only need his and Felicity's signatures to tie their futures together forever.

Afterwards he summoned enough strength to visit Tommy, still clutching the key piece of his future. He knelt on his grave and told him the day had come.  
He'd have given anything to have his best friend with him on the most important day of his life; instead, he had been planning this with him, detail by detail, for months. He'd even speculated on how everything would have been with him there. The speech he'd have given, the toast he'd have made, the dances he'd stolen from him with Felicity. How he'd have been his best man. That's the only thing that has managed to put a damper in his mood the whole day.  
Very few times during his youth did he ever imagine getting married but, the times he had, Tommy had always been there by his side. He had always been there joking about his nerves and asking him if he wanted to run. He had always been there clasping his shoulder and telling him to breathe. He had always been there elbowing him in the ribs and telling him how lucky he was. He had always been there passing him the rings that'd symbol his love for his bride, wide smile on his lips. He had always been there, rapidly blinking glassy eyes, and stubbornly refusing about crying on his wedding. But, as much as it hurts, the truth is he wasn't there and he's had to find another best man when he had never been able to imagine anyone else.

Once upon a time he didn't trust Roy Harper. Not only he believed him unworthy of his baby sister but he was too harsh and too angry. He believed the kid to be a loose cannon when, in reality, he was far too similar to him and that disturbed him. He could see his anger in him. He could see his need for helping in him. He could see the disgust in the corruption of their city in him. He could see his stubbornness in him. He saw everything he fought not to see every day in the mirror but without the years of training, of control and discipline. It was like seeing himself on the island, after Slade shaped him but before losing everything and gaining control, and he's never dealt well with those memories.  
His unwavering love and loyalty for his sister slowly redeemed him in his eyes, showing him how he was maturing and bringing to the surface his true nature. Then the Mirakuru happened and it proved to be as much of a blessing as a curse for their friendship and partnership. They had ups, they had downs, they fought and they pushed each other but, in the end, they found they were stronger united. They defeated Slade that way and they conquered the miracle serum running through the younger man's veins that way. Since then they've been friends and allies - family, really - and, while he'd never be Tommy, he has made a damn good best man and friend.

As he sways in the middle of Verdant's dance floor with his wife tightly fitted to his chest he sees all of them scattered around the room, happy and laughing in his wedding. He never expected it to be this way or with this woman but he wouldn't change it for the world. He wouldn't change seeing Sara and Laurel double over in laughter as they dance together under the watchful and amused eye of their father settled over the bar. He wouldn't change Diggle and Lyla's hushed conversations in the table on the corner. He wouldn't change Roy and Thea's soft dance. He wouldn't even change Thea's glares directed at him every once in a while.

Despite her apparent moodiness he knows she doesn't mean it, not really. She's just upset she couldn't throw them the big and elaborated bash she believes they deserve. But that's not them. They're quiet, they're homely and they're secretive and he knows this was the ideal way for them to get married. They fell in love in this building and it's only fitting they seal that love here, surrounded by the only people that matter in their lives. The only people who really know them, _all_ of them.  
For a second he was worried she was going to spoil his dream - this dream. She certainly was suspicious when Roy went to pick them up at the spa he'd begged her to take Felicity a couple of weeks ago. By the time they arrived to Verdant she was angry and when he took her away from Felicity to the safety of her office upstairs to tell her everything about his plan she was fuming.  
She'd yelled so loud at being lied to, again, that he thought she'd leave and he knew he'd never be able to get married without his only family by his side. When she started ranting about wedding dresses, and makeup and hair he could breathe again. He was off the hook just this once and he promised to never, ever, lie to her again. Unless Felicity and he needed a little time to accustom themselves to the idea of parenthood, but she has agreed to that one.

It was a blur from then on. He barely remembers how Thea scurried away to the foundry to get Felicity ready. He barely remembers Digg and Roy pushing him to get dressed. He barely remembers how Sara and Laurel exchanged amused giggles as he told the rabbi they'd have to wait for the bride to appear so they could have the other ring. What he does remember, crystal clear and in slow-motion, is Felicity walking up to him.  
She was absolutely puzzled, brow deeply furrowed and hissing angrily at Digg about making his credit score plummet if he didn't take the blindfold off her. They all laughed, he leading them on, and she froze even more confused but she couldn't fool him; her lips were tugging upwards already and her hand was clenching Digg's arm tighter. She was starting to guess what was happening and he nodded to Digg to take the fabric off her eyes.

Now, that was a beautiful sight. Smile so bright it put to shame all the pretty twinkling lights Sara spent hours arranging to perfection and shiny eyes that didn't move an inch from his. He thought his grin was going to split his face in two when she tugged at Digg to get her to him, impatient and completely unlike a bride should be, but not even Thea's muted berating could deter her and he was grateful for that. She was shaking by the time he touched her and she threw her arms at him and it that moment he knew everything he - they - had gone through in his - their - life had been a preamble to this.

It might have taken them a long journey. I might have taken them a lie. It might have taken them pain and heartache. But, in the end, it was all worth it and no one but his true family will ever know he was stupid enough not to acknowledge what was in front of him all along.  
He'd made sure their wedding date matches the one the press believed real one exact year ago because they'd been married in spirit for that long already. He knows she agrees wholeheartedly and, by the time their Marriage Certificate is registered digitally, the full date will match the one of the fateful article that brought them together. This is not a wedding, not really, just a celebration. One he's going to make sure they have every year for as long as they both shall live.


End file.
